hunger games

Today marks the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics, so I guess that justifies a post. Here’s three interesting things about the Olympics…

Did you know that the opening ceremony originated through Nazism? There are no records of a torch ceremony before the 1936 Berlin Olympics. While the ancient Greeks utilized the ceremony before their games to honor their gods, we never adopted the practice in modern games until the original flame was said to be dedicated to Hitler himself just before running it to Berlin. This was the Nazi’s way of showing Germany the potential outcome of their reach and an attempt to shift international power in their favor. Though the modern flame has a somewhat offensive and dangerous history, I’m going to continue to relate the Opening Torch Ceremony to the grace and symbolism of the ancient world for which it originated.

For the first time EVER there are more women on the U.S.’s Olympic team than men. This is very odd to me and I can’t help but question the mechanics behind it. I do believe that women can be amazing athletes, but aren’t men built more athletically? Congratulations Title IX. Your supportive results are in.

Two Olympic swimmers, Ryan Lochte from the U.S. and Blair Evans from Australia are thought to be smitten for one another. This is cute, but makes me think of the “star-crossed lover” situation from the Hunger Games…which could ultimately be tragic since someone has to be the loser. At least it’s not life or death…but it could be in terms of a relationship.

Ok that’s all the Olympic talk I have for now. On to other news…

There has been an increase in traffic accidents…and they say it’s due to the warm winter that we had. This is odd because you would think that colder temperatures mean worse driving conditions. Turns out I’m just one of the stupid people that continue to drive when the weather is bad. The warm weather means there are more people on the road during the winter months than usual because there’s no threat of icy or hazardous road conditions…to sum this up: watch out for a surplus of idiots on the road.

Yahoo apparently did a study on the best spaghetti sauces and I was surprised that Prego and Ragu were both excluded from the top of the list. Instead they fell into the “fair” category. I thought spaghetti was good all these years by using the “fair” sauce?! What greatness has escaped my mouth for this long! Next time I’m going to try Giada De Laurentiis tomato basil sauce, which ranked as the top contender. And my expectations are very high.

Everyone seems to be up in arms about the comments made by the owner of Chick-fil-A pertaining to gay marriage. Honestly, I think the sauce they serve is good enough to make you wanna slap ya momma…which is potentially even more offensive/dangerous than expressing an opinion, so be careful.

Please keep Colorado in your prayers. Three hospitals have reduced and even erased the bills for the uninsured that were affected in the tragedy, and are now relying on donations and charity care to cover the costs. Prayer or money- every little bit counts.

In other news, watch out for the “Plain Jane Bandit”! She is still on the loose because officials are unable to distinguish her enough to make a catch. So far she has robbed SIX banks throughout Los Angeles. Nice.

Apparently there is a new technology being developed that will allow people to write (in cursive) with their eyes. It will assist people who were recently paralyzed or are unable to communicate. While this is a little creepy, it’s exciting to know that we are overcoming yet another obstacle in communication.

By the way, I have cooked the last two nights in a row. This means two things: number one- I will NOT be cooking tonight, and number two- I have new recipes to add to my small but growing collection! My favorite was eggplant stuffing, rivaled by the skinny(ish) chicken enchiladas. I’d be glad to share them with anyone interested in cooking!

It’s Friday and I’ve got plans so I’m outta here! Hope everyone has a safe and fantastically passionate weekend full of laughter, good times, sweet tea, sunshine, fireflies, excitement, and of course, fireworks!

Love always,

Addie

“They came to sit & dangle their feet off the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good & true things they would do someday. ”- Brian Andreas